The Hold Up
by bucketgirl55
Summary: A perfect day goes from good to hell for Alex and Billy.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of these characters, I just love to play around with them.

Synopsis: A perfect day comes out very wrong.

**The hold-up**

The sun was already out, surrounded by a perfectly blue sky. Temperature was still low, but at least they knew spring was coming. It was Monday. They always had a BBQ on Monday in the firehouse of Squad 55. It was Walsh's turn to cook, so he met up with Alex Taylor before their shift started to get the supplies. There was a bodega just a couple of blocks away from the firehouse, so the plan was to stop there on their way in.

It was shortly after 8 am when Billy's Jeep stopped in front of Taylor's apartment building. Before he could hunk the horn, the entrance door opened and the petite blonde woman came down the front steps. She had a duffel bag with her, which she threw in back before she climbed into his car.

"Morning," she yawned.

"Morning…" Billy smiled. Alex was not a morning person. But she had wanted to help carrying all the groceries they needed for a BBQ at the firehouse. Even if that meant getting up even earlier.

"You didn't have to come, you know."

The look Alex gave him said everything and made him laugh. He put the car into drive and waited for an opening in the morning rush hour traffic to get to that bodega.

Traffic was heavy that morning, so it took Walsh about a half hour to get to that little store. All those one-way streets on their way didn't help either. They had to go up two blocks more than needed, only to get to the next side street and go down one block again to get to the store.

Sometimes, Alex wondered who the hell had planned those streets. She didn't like to drive privately in the city. Directing the ambulance through traffic was bad enough. She admired Walsh for being able to make his way through narrow and crowded streets with the fire engine, which was about three times the size of an ambulance.

Alex yawned again. Why the hell did she offered her help again? She shook her head, lost in thoughts.

"What?" Billy asked, having noticed her head shaking from the corner of his eye.

"Nothing, never mind. You know what we need?" she asked, referring to the BBQ.

Now it was Billy's turn to give her a look.

"Just asking," Alex defended herself, raising her hands. But she finally smiled. Together, they went in.

While Walsh was quickly making his way to the beef, Alex was checking vegetables for salad. There were no other customers in that bodega, so they had it for themselves.

The bell over the door rang again, indicating the door being opened again. Out of reflex, Billy turned around to have a look. There were two men, one of average height, with flaming red hair, wearing a black leather coat. The other was a couple of inches smaller, wearing a Yankee's baseball cap and a black sweater. Both wore black jeans and sneakers. Walsh took this in only in a split second, before one of the men turned around the "yes, we are open" sign and the other went for the woman behind the counter.

"Give me your cash!" the leather coat guy ordered, holding something towards the cashier woman.

The shorter guy looked around nervously and spotted some of the customers.

"Hurry, man!" he muttered towards his partner.

The woman was hastily trying to open the cash register, but it wouldn't work.

"Come on, Lady!"

"I…I can't…it doesn't work…" the woman returned, her voice barely more than a whisper. She was terrified.

Billy tried to move. If he could hide behind one of the shelves, he might be able to get his cell phone out to call 9-1-1.

"Where you think you're going?" the short man hissed, suddenly pointing a gun at Walsh.

Billy held up his hands in a defensive position.

"Okay…just stay calm…"

Just in that moment, Alex turned around one of the shelves, a salad in each hand.

"Hey, Billy, you think that's enough?" she asked loudly, oblivious to what was going on.

The taller man swirled around, spotted Alex and fired his gun.


	2. Chapter 2

Alex Taylor heard the shot. Then only a split second later, her left shoulder suddenly started to hurt. Badly. She knew she was hit.  
"What the fuck have you done?" the shorter man snapped at his partner.  
Alex turned to face Walsh, who was watching in horror. She had never seen such an expression on his face and instantly knew it was bad. Slowly, as if in slow-motion, her legs quit underneath her and she went down to the ground.  
"Alex!" Walsh finally managed. He wanted to hurry over towards her, help her, but there was a gun stopping him in his tracks.  
"Don't you move!" the shorter man ordered in a threatening voice.  
"Stay back, Billy…" Alex managed to say through the pain. Being a paramedic herself as well as a firefighter, she knew she had to get help soon. But there was no point in someone else being shot.  
In all that chaos that was forming, the woman behind the counter suddenly remembered the silent alarm. The button was only inches away from her underneath the counter. All she had to do was reach out. She heard the woman who had been shot, moan. That woman needed help. Carefully, the cashier woman started moving her arm towards the button while nobody was paying attention to her and hit it without anyone noticing.  
"What we do now?" the taller man asked.  
"Get the money," the shorter one ordered. He seemed to be the leader in that team of two.  
The man in the leather coat turned towards the woman behind the register again.  
"Let's go!" he ordered, his gun pointing at her again.  
The woman finally managed to open the register and handed him all the bills that were in there. They had only opened up 2 hours ago, so there wasn't any big money in there yet.  
"Please don't shoot me," the woman started to beg. The situation finally got to her. She moved a little.  
"Stay where you are!" the taller man returned his focus towards her.  
"Where's the rest?" he asked, pointing down at the dollar bills on the counter.  
"That's all…we haven't had many customers yet."  
Angrily, the man grabbed what appeared to be $100 maybe and pocketed it. Then he turned to his partner, the gun still aimed at the woman behind the counter.  
"Now what?" he asked.  
In that same moment, the smaller man at the door spotted something that wasn't good news.  
"Cops!"


	3. Chapter 3

Hope was blossoming inside of Walsh. If the cops were already here, they would get out here soon and Alex could get treatment. He looked at her, worried. She was trying to control the bleeding by pressing onto her shoulder, but blood was pressing through her fingers. Her face was pale; sweat forming on her forehead.

"Just hold on Alex," Billy told her. He wanted to help her, get her out of there, but he didn't dare to move.

Alex looked up to him, seeing the fear in his eyes. She wanted to tell him it wasn't that bad, that she was okay. But she knew it would be a lie. And he would see right through it. So she just nodded weakly and tried not to move.

Billy turned towards the two men.

"Let me help her, please!" he almost begged.

The taller man looked at his partner, who was stepping away from the door a little.

"You wanna help?" he asked in a voice that wasn't promising anything good.

Walsh nodded slightly.

"Come here," the shorter man ordered.  
"Billy don't…" Alex whispered when she saw him moving.

"It's okay Alex," he returned although he wasn't too sure about that himself.

Slowly, he motioned towards the smaller guy. As soon as he was close enough, the man grabbed him, turned him around and held his gun to Billy's temple.

"You tell them to leave us alone! Now!" the man whispered into Walsh's ear.

The taller man was looking in awe, not sure what to do, while his partner ordered him to open the door. As soon as the door was open, the smaller guy pushed Walsh forward, the gun still at his temple.

Police cars were surrounding the shop. Billy could see the ambulance from his house stand by on the left and he recognised the fire engine to the right. All vehicles had their lights on, giving the scene a surreal touch, painting the surrounding area blue and red.

From afar, Lieutenant Johnson and his men were observing the scene. He saw the door open and his heart missed several beats when he recognised the man being pushed outside.

"Billy…," he whispered. Next to him, the others made that same discovery. Their friend and colleague was in there. And that meant, Alex Taylor was in there as well…


	4. Chapter 4

Billy saw some more familiar faces from the police precinct on the scene. Every cop had his or her gun pointed towards him, waiting for a move.

"Now – tell them!" the man behind him hissed.

"They won't go away, no matter what I tell them. You're only chance…"

The man behind him pressed the barrel against Walsh's head.

"Tell 'em…or you're dead!"

Billy closed his eyes in anguish. Images of friends and family started appearing in his mind. He didn't want to die. Not like this. He drew a breath.

"Leave us alone!" he yelled so everybody could hear.  
"They got hostages! Alex is shot!"

"What you think you're doing?" the man shouted into Walsh's ear and pulled him back inside. Once they were inside, he pushed Billy towards Alex.

"You think you're this smart, huh?" the shorter man asked. The taller man was looking at his partner.

"Come on, let's blow this off, go out back, whatever…let's get out of here!" he said nervously.

"They are everywhere, dumb ass!" he snapped back, referring to the police.

The shorter man looked around.

"This is your fault!" he spit towards Walsh, pointed his gun at the woman behind the counter and squeezed the trigger…

The second they heard the shot outside, some of the officers started to return fire. Billy threw Alex down, covering her with his body when the bullets came flying into that little store.

In horror, Johnson watched what was going on. He closed his eyes and prayed with all his might that Walsh and Taylor would make it out there alive.

After a few moments, they ceased fire and everything was dead quiet.

Slowly, Billy opened his eyes. The store looked like a war zone. Glass was shattered, cans were damaged and pouring their contents out on the floor. He moved slightly to give Alex some room to breath again. Then he looked around quickly. The two men were down on the floor, same as the woman from behind the counter. Walsh returned his attention back to hid friend.

"Alex, you're okay?" he asked and waited for a reply. When there was none, he felt a stab in his heart and his stomach turned.

"Alex? Talk to me!"

He checked her pulse, but he couldn't find one. He checked her respiration, with the same result.

"Don't do this to me…don't…" he muttered, lying her flat on her back and started CPR.

With every four times he compressed her chest, he bent down to breathe his breath into her, to provide her with oxygen.

"Don't you dare die on me!" he swore under his breath. He felt sweat forming on his arms, his forehead and his neck.

Four compressions, one breath. Over and over. Billy prayed for the medics to come in there any second.

Four compressions, one breath.

"Billy, are you okay?" he could hear someone yell.

"I need help in here!" he yelled back. His heart was pounding. He could hear his blood rush in his ears.

Suddenly, he felt someone beside him. It was Doc.

"Okay, go on with CPR…" he told Walsh while preparing everything to save Alex Taylor…


	5. Chapter 5

The drive in the ambulance to Mercy Hospital was a blur. He wouldn't leave Alex alone the whole time Doc was working on her. They had managed to get a rhythm again, even if it was just a weak one. But Billy was glad for every improvement right now. Now, he was watching the doctors of Mercy working on her in a trauma room. There was blood everywhere. Alex' blood. He had it on his hands, his shirt. It was on the floor of the trauma room, in the gauze they had used. He felt his stomach turn again and nausea coming up.

Billy hurried to the next men's room and threw up.

It took him some time to get to his feet again. He felt dizzy and weak when he went over to the sink and turned on the cold water. Somewhere he had heard that blood best came out with cold water. Weird how little stuff like that popped up in her head in a situation like this. Billy pulled off his shirt and let it soak in the water. He went over to another sink and started washing his hands.

Behind Walsh, the door opened and Lieutenant Johnson came in.

"You okay in here?" he wanted to know. He knew exactly how Billy felt, he felt the same way.

Billy wasn't able say anything, so he just nodded slightly. He didn't look up. He knew that if he would look up, if he would try to say something, he would loose it. So he simply leant on the edge of the sink and watched the water disappearing.

"The woman didn't make it, neither did the perps. I'm sorry…" Lieu informed him.

Billy closed his eyes. It had been his fault. He had made that man shot that woman. He was responsible for her death.

"Don't go there, Billy," he heard Johnson say as if he could read his mind. Johnson came closer and let his hand rest on Walsh's shoulder.

"You did all you could. It's not your fault."

Billy had a hard time keeping back the tears. He couldn't get rid of that image of Alex lying beneath him, not breathing.

"Be grateful. You're alive…"

"What about Alex…?" Billy croaked. His voice was about to leave him.

Johnson looked worried. That was answer enough to Walsh. He returned his gaze back to the sink. This day had started so perfectly, and now it was all so wrong.

"You come out whenever you're ready. If there's any change, I will come get you," the Lieutenant promised, squeezed Billy's shoulder reassuringly and left him alone again.

When he was sure he was alone again, Billy let out a deep sigh. He looked up to meet his mirror image. He looked pale, exhausted. He felt nauseous again, but this time, he fought it down again. Billy leant forward to rest his head against the mirror. The coolness felt good and for a moment, he managed to switch his mind off and just rest.

The men's room door opened again and Johnson came back in. He found Walsh leaning against the mirror in his white undershirt, eyes closed.

"Billy…?" he carefully asked, but still made Walsh jump at the sound of his voice.

The second he saw his Lieutenant in the door, he knew. But quickly, Johnson shook his head.

"They're taking her up to surgery now. I thought you might want to see her before that."

Billy let out a sigh of relief. Alex was alive. That was all that mattered.

He hurried to follow Johnson outside towards the trauma room, where the doctors were already pushing the gurney towards the elevator.

"Can you wait a second?" Lieutenant Johnson asked Dr Fields. He knew they had to bring her to the OR as fast as they could, but he also sensed that Walsh needed to see Alex one more time before that.

"It's touch and go Lieutenant, we don't have much time," Dr Fields returned, but since they had to wait for the elevator, he stopped the gurney.

Billy moved closer. Alex' face was almost as white as the sheets of the gurney. Tubes were going into her body everywhere. She had been intubated before, so she could breathe. Billy swallowed hard. He didn't feel prepared for this sight at all. Alex had always been a strong woman, seeing her lying there, fragile and vulnerable made him sick to the stomach. He gently took her hand.

"I'm here," he whispered, unsure if Alex could hear him, oblivious to everyone surrounding them.

The elevator doors opened and the gurney was moving again. Billy didn't want to let go, he didn't want to loose her, but he knew he had to let them go up. He felt someone beside him. It was DK.

"She's gonna make it," he said, trying to keep his voice steady. "She's tough."

Walsh was still looking at the closed elevator doors. His body started shivering. It was cold outside here and he was only wearing his undershirt. Lieutenant Johnson took off his light blue FDNY jeans jacket and gave it to him.

"We need to get back to the house," he said quietly, knowing that none of his crew wanted to leave the hospital. "They don't have any engine available to cover for us."

Billy looked up to his boss. He couldn't leave. Not now. Not before he knew that Alex was okay. Johnson saw that look in his eyes and nodded.

"You stay here, Walsh. If there's any change, you call, alright?"

And with that, Squad 55 started to move back to their engine.  
"Thank you," Billy croaked before Johnson was out of sight. He got a nod in return.

Then, Billy Walsh was alone again.


	6. Chapter 6

All he could do now was wait. He went to the waiting area and sat down on the red plastic seat in the corner by the window. Billy felt drained, tired, but at the same time wired on emotions that were almost overwhelmingly strong. Concern for Alex, guilt for the woman behind that counter. He didn't even know her name. Anger towards the two deceased perpetrators that had tried to rob that little bodega only a couple of blocks away from his firehouse. But there was something else that Billy didn't want to admit. Fear. Fear of loosing Alex. Billy bent forward and let his face rest in his hands which were resting on his knees.

"Excuse me, is this seat taken?" he heard a voice and looked up.

It was Nurse Mary Proctor. A familiar face. She held a cup of coffee in her hand.

"I thought maybe you'd like some." She offered it to him.

Billy took it gratefully and thanked her. He took a deep gulp of the hot liquid and it felt good. It felt alive.

"No news yet, but I will let you know as soon as I hear anything," the Afro-American Nurse let him know. She knew Walsh for years now, seeing him occasionally when the firefighters were bringing someone in, mostly one of their own. But she had rarely seen Walsh this way. The last time had been when Bobby Caffey had been shot.

"If there's anything I can do…," she offered.

Billy looked up.

"Thank you…"

Mary Proctor knew better than to tell him everything would turn out okay and that Alex would be coming fine when this was over. So she said nothing and turned to go.

"Mary…?" she heard Billy behind him and turned around to face him again.

"Can you tell me? How could that shoulder wound be so bad?" He had to know.

Mary sat down beside him.

"It wasn't just a GSW to the shoulder. She was hit pretty badly to the abdomen. She had lost a lot of blood. You did CPR?"

He nodded weakly.  
"That's what got her here. She wouldn't have had a chance without you. You saved her."

Billy laughed slightly. Mary looked at him, confused.

"Doesn't look like it did much good, did it?"

The Nurse almost jumped up and pointed her finger at Walsh.

"I don't wanna hear that from you, understand me? She needs all the help she can get! Now the doctors upstairs are doing all they can – so you better change your attitude there!"

Billy just looked at her with surprise in his eyes.

"I know you feel helpless right now, like you couldn't do anything to help her. But you can. Be there for her. I know she's fighting for her life up there as we speak."

Now it was Mary's turn to be surprised when Walsh got up and handed her that cup back.

"Can I wait upstairs?" he asked, the tiredness suddenly gone.

"Sure…they have a waiting area too. Second floor, left from the elevators."

And with that, she watched him go.

Hours went by. Walsh was either up, walking around in circles, or sitting down, trying to focus his mind onto reading. It wouldn't work. Finally, his body overpowered his mind and he fall asleep in one of the chairs.

It was a restless sleep, his mind processing what had been happening that day. Quickly, the much needed sleep turned into a nightmare.

He saw a man in blue hospital scrubs coming out the automatic OR door. He pulled off his hair cover and went over to Walsh.

"Are you with Miss Taylor?" he asked.

Quickly, Billy got to his feet. "Yes."

By the look on the doctor's face, he knew.

"We did everything we could…"

Billy didn't hear the rest. He felt like the floor was moving. It couldn't be. Not Alex. He stumbled backwards and almost crashed into the plastic seats behind him. Billy covered his eyes with his hand and just let emotions flow.


	7. Chapter 7

Back at the Squad, everybody was waiting for a word on how Alex was doing. It was quiet in the firehouse. Nobody could think about preparing lunch, let alone eat it. DK got up to get yet another cup of coffee. His mouth already felt as if little furry animals were using his tongue as a camp site. But at least it gave him something to do. Even if it was just for a few seconds.

"Dammit!" Lombardo cursed, making everybody jump.

"They have to know something by now!"

Doc shook his head.  
"This kind of surgery always takes a while…"

"But there has to be something we can do…anything…" DK said.

They all looked up when Lieutenant Johnson was coming out of his office. He, too, looked tired, worried.

"I talked to dispatch. We're covered for a while. If you wanna go back to Mercy…"

Within moments, everybody was in the truck, with Logan driving this time, since their chauffeur was at Mercy Hospital as well.

Walsh woke with a start. It took him a moment to realise where he was. How long had he been sleeping? He could feel his heart pounding. The neck of the jacket was clam with sweat. Billy turned around to see DK next to him. Johnson was there too, as well as the rest of the Squad. The waiting area was crowded with FDNY.

Then it hit him. He had to tell them. Tell them that Alex Taylor was dead. Billy didn't know how or if he would have the strength to do that. But maybe they already knew. Maybe that was why they were here.

He sat up straight, as if to try to strengthen himself for the task that lay before him.

"Alex…she…" He couldn't. Couldn't bring himself to say it. As if it would become real if he would say it out loud. But before he could say anything more, a doctor approached them. He was wearing blue scrubs, just like the one before. Billy felt trapped in a major déjà-vu.

"Are you with Ms Taylor?" the doctor asked.

Johnson stepped aside, so Billy could come forward. They all knew how much Alex meant to Walsh, so he should be the one to hear first. The rest of the Squad moved behind him.

"She was seriously injured. We had to revive her…"

Billy shook his head. He could see that man's lips moving, but the words didn't make any sense. He had been through this before. He turned around to face Johnson. His Lieutenant always gave him strength, just by being there.

"She's in recovery now."

"What?" Billy thought he had heard wrongly.  
"We're sure she will make a full recovery, although it will take a while…," the doctor added.

"You don't know our Alex, doc!" DK said and smiled.

"Can…can I see her…please?" Billy had found his voice back. It had been a dream, all a bad dream. Alex was alive and he needed to see her to believe it.

"No visitors allowed in recovery," the doctor started, but when he saw Walsh's face and the hopeful faces of the others surrounding him, he sighed.

"Only a few minutes, okay!"


	8. Chapter 8

The only sound in the recovery room was coming from the steady beeping of the heart monitor. Billy knew enough about medicine to know that her heartbeat was normal again. He watched the oscillating line for a moment, as if he wanted to make sure Alex was really alive. He forced himself to get closer to the bed she was lying in. She still looked so fragile, so vulnerable that he was almost afraid to touch her. An IV was attached to her left arm and she was intubated, but breathing on her own. Various cables vanished underneath her gown. It creeped Billy out seeing her like this. Emotions were trying to find a way out, feelings he had bottled up way too long.

Gently, Billy took Alex's right hand, feeling her, letting her feel that she was not alone.

"I'm here," he heard himself say without even realising he had said something. Billy pulled a chair closer to her bed and let himself sink into it. He couldn't take his eyes off of her.

"You scared me good, little Lady," he whispered.

"I thought I had lost you…"

He took a deep breath to keep the tears inside, but it didn't work. His eyes watered and he could feel them running down his cheeks.

Suddenly, it was all back. The fear. Billy could feel the cold metal of the gun barrel on his temple. He swallowed hard. He had never been more afraid in his whole life than in that moment. Yes he had. Discovering Alex wasn't breathing anymore, thinking he had lost her.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, rested his head near Alex's arm and let his emotions flow…

A steady beeping made it through to her mind. She felt exhausted and her body was aching.

She remembered the shop. She wanted to get everything for their BBQ at the firehouse.

She heard the shot again and knew what had happened.

Alex felt a presence next to her. With an Herculean effort, she opened her eyes and had to blink a few times to get used to the light again.

Billy's head was resting next to her arm. He looked just as tired as she felt. It took her a moment to realise he was crying. She felt a pinch to her heart. She felt she couldn't speak, so all she could do was move her arm slightly, so her hand would touch Billy's hair. She gently stroke his head, a weak attempt to comfort him.

Billy startled by the sudden touch and spun around, only to see Alex awake.

"Hey!" he gently said and got up. His hair was all messed up and he looked as if he had slept in his blue FDNY sweater.  
Alex tried to talk, but she couldn't. Billy gently put a finger on her mouth.

"You can't speak yet…you've just been extubated couple of hours before…" he told her.

She nodded weakly and signed him to move closer to her again. He pulled the chair close and sat down again.

"You scared us good…"

Alex made an apologising face and moved her hands up to touch Billy's face. His eyes were red and his cheeks wet. He looked awful. Feeling her hand, Billy realised what he must look like and dried his face with his sweater.

"Don't you ever do this to me again, okay?" he sighed, referring to the touch and go they went through.

He drew a deep breath, preparing to what he was about to tell her, since she couldn't talk back at the moment. He had held it back way too long, it was time now. He looked away from those beautiful blue eyes he had loved the first time he had seen them and faced the floor.

"I thought I had lost you…When you weren't breathing, it felt like a part of me was dying."

He looked up again, seeing Alex's eyes water.

"It's true, Alex…I love you…I have loved you from the first day you went into the Squad."

Now tears were running down her face. He reached over and wiped them away. Then, he slowly moved forward, until his face was close to hers and her blue eyes locked on his brown ones. She slightly nodded.

Next thing she knew, she felt Billy's lips finding hers…


End file.
